IT’S a busy time of year for anyone but spare a thought for postie David Ferguson who doubles up as a volunteer at Scotland’s only inshore lifeboat station.
The 33-year-old has a particularly frantic festive season as he not only has to deal with an increased workload on his rounds at Glen Urquhart but has to be prepared for a call-out at any hour of the day or night.
To make sure he’s available, Ferguson carries a pager with him as he delivers cards and parcels to people living near Loch Ness.
Along with other volunteer lifeboat crew members, Ferguson will continue to be on standby throughout the festive season, ready to abandon present wrapping, parties and even Christmas lunch to respond to the call of the pager and rescue those in difficulty on the water.
Since 1979, Scottish lifeboat stations have launched 414 times in the festive period, saved 51 lives and aided 216 people.
At the RNLI’s lifeboat station on Loch Ness, the crew deals with around 25 to 30 call outs every year and as Ferguson lives and works in close proximity he is one of the busiest members of the crew.
He said the night time call outs are “particularly interesting” as he is often only able to grab a couple of hours sleep before he starts work at 6.30am.
“When you see the sun start rising on your way back after a call-out you know it’s going to be a long day,” said Ferguson, who often works 10-12 hour days over the festive period.
Callouts can be to tourists who have sailed into difficulty after hiring a boat to look for the monster, or sometimes to road accidents when a car has gone off the road and dropped down towards the water.
READ MORE: A gye rocky month for ae north-east lifeboat service
“One that sticks in my mind was a paddle board event on the loch,” said Ferguson. “It was not the best conditions for it and one of the competitors fell off, his board snapped and he could not recover himself. He was in a pretty bad way and heading towards hypothermia when we picked him up but the coast guard helicopter came and took him to hospital where he recovered.”
At the moment, the crew has 15 members which Ferguson says is a “wee bit tight”.
“We could do with five or so more although there has not been a case where we have been called out and there has not been enough folk,” he said.
Some more volunteers would ease the pressure on the existing crew, particularly Ferguson who has the added challenge of his heavy Christmas post bag.
“I think Postman Pat is false advertising as he seems to live the good life but it’s a lovely job and people appreciate what you do - even more so when they learn you carry a pager with you,” he said.
“There’s a fair few of us on the crew, and crews across the country, whose jobs get that bit more demanding at Christmas and at the same time there’s no let-up in the likelihood of the pager going off.
“I’ve never heard a complaint from anyone on the crew though. No matter the time of year, this is a way of life for us and we’ll drop anything to help people in trouble on the water.”
He pointed out that the demands on the RNLI as a whole are increasing.
“We’d just ask people to remember that and if they do want to help us out with a donation then that’s great - it’s so appreciated by the crews, and everyone.”
Ferguson has been a crew member for nearly three years now and has no regrets about volunteering.
“I generally love it as it is so challenging and rewarding,” he said. “The rewards definitely outweigh the challenges.”
To ensure the RNLI can continue its lifesaving work this Christmas and into the future, the charity is running a major fundraising appeal, The Perfect Storm, with the aim of raising £1.8M and recruiting 12,000 new supporters.
Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,200 lives but callouts are rising while donations, particularly legacy gifts, have dropped.
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